In this week’s episode of The Daily Carnage Show, Shannon discusses two recent studies that illuminate surprising realities in the industry and the culture at large:

1. 🏳️‍🌈 Collage Group’s “Beyond Pride” suggests that, despite media narratives and brand hesitancy, the risk of consumer backlash to Pride Month campaigns has been over-exaggerated.
2. 🧠 “Unlocking Neurodiversity: A Creative Advantage,” by Understood.org reveals that nearly half of creatives in marketing, advertising, PR, and media are neurodivergent—and they’re suffering from discrimination and lack of accommodation.

Let’s talk about how to course correct. 👇

🎙️ Stream it now (19 min):

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SOCIAL

🤪 Unhinged marketing has gone mainstream, but consumers crave honesty.

🏕️ The new summer camp is on TikTok.

📅 Snap acquires Saturn, a social calendar app for high school and college students.

🔄 Infographic: How social platforms count video views.

COMMUNITY MGMT

🔗 Meta confirms Page Managers should put links in the comments.

🚫 Facebook Group admins complain of mass bans. Meta says it’s fixing the problem.

📊 Infographic: The largest communities on Reddit.

AI

🌍 These AI chatbot questions cause most carbon emissions, scientists find.

🧠 AI is changing how we speak and interact with others.

⚡ The ad industry is obsessed with AI — but what about its energy use and sustainability?

GOOGLE

🤝 There is, apparently, a Google Ads Referral Program now.

🧪 Google is testing a new SERP feature that lets you copy the code for emojis with a click. (We’re very excited about this one).

Monday: LLM SEO is all about making your content easier for AI to understand and recommend in responses. Here’s how to rank in ChatGPT or other AI search platforms like Claude, Grok, or Perplexity.

Tuesday: Many neurodivergent creatives remain unsupported or even marginalized by outdated workplace structures and expectations. We have to stop assuming how neurodivergent minds work and start adapting to how they actually operate. Here are five ways to unlock neurodivergent creativity.

• According to our poll, 58% of respondents report that their organizations do NOT offer accommodations for neurodivergence.

Wednesday: 36% of users now start their searches on Pinterest rather than a traditional search engine. This marks a major shift in user behavior, especially among younger audiences. So, what does this mean for brands?

Thursday: LinkedIn is nudging us all toward short-form video… but is it actually more effective than regular old blogging? Over 90 days, Scott Gillum tested both formats across a range of performance tiers, from impressions to actual business results. Here’s what the test revealed.

Can you solve this puzzle? 🏕️

💬 Hey chat… how do we feel about cheesy experiential gimmicks at conferences?

• “Nothing says brand growth and serious business moves like posing with birds and temporary tattoos.”
• “Mini vacation and networking, count me in.”
• “Don’t knock it until you try it.”
• “I’ve been at conferences where we went kayaking with dolphins, went bowling and played arcade games, and even went snowboarding/skiing. Using creative tactics to facilitate natural connection through fun at a conference isn’t a bad thing.”
• “Honestly, the gimmicky things are generally the huge draws at a conference, compared to the “same old sales pitch” trade show booths.”

For $99, you get 200 characters to share your stuff right in this spot.

Our on-demand process lets you select your date, drop in your creative, complete your payment, and get on our calendar ASAP.

Answer: Snoo.

Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian doodled the friendly alien while bored in a marketing class. It’s “Snoo” like “what’s new?” and his/her/their eyes are #FF4500. That’s about all we know.